RADICCHIO, NOT ROSES 2023

BACK SEASONALITY

IN FEBRUARY, ROSES ARE NOT IN SEASON IN THE US

They are grown in Latin America, specifically Colombia and Ecuador, where the climate is conducive to winter growth.[2] The success of this industry is reliant, in large part, on dangerous chemicals and low wages with detrimental social and environmental costs.[3]

To boycott imported blooms entirely could cause major socio-economic impacts in those countries affected, but that does not mean we have to accept the current status quo. The key is conversation. This year, consider early spring local crops that can be grown in greenhouses — ranunculus, anemones, tulips, narcissus, and hellebores.

Or, choose Radicchio. Earlier this year at Tamarack Hollow in Vermont, Amanda successfully trialed her first crop of forced Rosa del Veneto — proof that radicchio can thrive in the US without chemical intervention at this time of year. While we hope to see a network of US growers develop, we continue to back those on the ground in Veneto who are fighting to preserve the varieties and traditions passed down the generations.

“You don’t need to ban roses.
The system just needs to change.”

Last year, two remarkably similar campaigns were launched in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. We urged shoppers to ‘Buy Radicchio, Not Roses.' SSAW Collective — the chefs, florists & growers committed to an ethical way of working with seasonal produce — asked, “Why buy roses in February”?

PRESERVE GROWING ARTISTRY

TRADITIONALLY-GROWN VENETIAN RADICCHIO IS ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION

VENETIAN RADICCHIO

Veneto, in Italy’s northeast, has maintained a long tradition of radicchio growing. For centuries, wild chicory has been eaten here, thriving in the heavy, mineral-rich soils and fluctuating temperatures that drop below freezing for weeks at a time. Towns like Chioggia, Treviso, Castelfranco, Verona, Lusia, and Gorizia all give their names to fiercely local varieties.

TRADITIONAL FORCING

However, these plants were elevated into a delicacy through careful selection, the passing on of traditional wisdom, and the development of an innovative cultivation process: forcing. After an initial period of outdoor growth, growers would re-plant their chicories in the dark, their roots often immersed in soil, spring water or sand. Triggered into new growth without photosynthesis, nutrient-dense, bittersweet and firm heads would form. By 1900 there were whole exhibitions celebrating these qualities.

Today, however, a different story dominates. Most growers opt for modern varieties designed to self-blanch in the field. The result: higher yields but depleted flavor in dull or overly bitter heads.

OUR GROWERS

A decade ago we came across Antonello’s chicories at the Lusia market in Veneto. From their striking colors to their densely packed heads, we recognized quality that only comes as a result of genuine artistry. Since then, we have built relationships with a number of small-scale, traditional growers going against the odds— Luca, Damiano, Torre and Simone.

A GREATER THREAT

This year, it’s more than yield which threatens production: it’s climate change. With winters getting warmer, the hard, cold frosts so vital to the process are happening later and less frequently. As a result, Antonello has not been able to grow one of his usual varieties — Castelfranco — for the first time.

CHOOSE FLAVOR, NOT WASTE

RADICCHIO IS EATEN, NOT WASTED AT END OF LIFE

Deep purple with tight, curled leaves or rosette-shaped with red speckles, bright red with crisp white veins or all hues of pink; we challenge you to find flowers more striking and vibrant than these radicchio heads.

At the end of their life as centerpieces, radicchio plants are eaten, not wasted. Radicchio plants are eaten, not wasted. Their bittersweet complexity makes them ideal for cold-weather salads. Try with lemon, anchovy and garlic dressing or preserved lime and rose vinegar. Mix with fennel and blood orange or try it wrapped around hot smoked trout and kabocha squash onigiri (as an alternative to seaweed).